A + X #7 – Review

By: Zeb Wells, Christopher Yost (Writers), Dale Keown, Orphans Cheeps aka R’John Bernales & Chris Turcotte (Penciler/Artists), Norman Lee (Inker), Morry Hollowell (Color Artist), VC’s Clayton Cowles (Letterer)

Review: “Thor and Iceman team-up in one of the most visually amazing tales you’ve ever seen!”: thus reads the solicitation for this month’s A+X, and, for once, the marketing team ain’t blowing smoke up your apertures. See that cover? Yeah, that’s Orphans Cheeps. They are oh so good, a burst of retina-crumbling illustration so awesome that…wait, I’m getting ahead of myself. There’s two parts to this book after all and each are enjoyable in their own right. Let me wipe the ocular slobber from my cheeks, run down what else this book does well, and then I’ll get back to the praise-makin’.

A+X #4 – Review

By: Kaare Andrews, Jason Latour (Writers), Kaare Andrews, David López (Artists), Lee Loughridge, Jim Charalampiois (Colorists), Alvard López (Inker), Clayton Cowles (Letterer) 

The Review: I think it’s safe to say that nobody expected A+X to be quite this good. A quick look at the reviews for the last three issues show that nearly every major comic review website (ours included) has been mighty impressed with the consistently high levels of quality and effort found in each episode. In an era of ‘event fatigue’ and dubious reboots, this series’ amiable modus operandi is refreshing: one X-Man teamed with one Avenger. Them’s the rules, and aside from that anything goes.

This issue could be said to embody that freewheeling spirit more than any other so far; it’s leaking crazy like a broken faucet in Arkham Asylum. Ready the sedatives and wheel out the gurney, this patient ain’t going down without a fight:

A+X #2 Review

By: Chris Bachalo, Peter David (Writer), Chris Bachalo, Mike Del Mundo (Artist), Tim Townsend (Inker), Chris Bachalo (Colorist), Clayton Cowles (Letterer)

The Review: It may come as a surprise that this series – which could so easily have been treated as a last ditch cash grab trading off any residual Avengers vs. X-Men hype – is actually proving pretty indispensable. It’s not so much that the stories contained within will have any lasting ramifications for the heroes they feature, but more that they offer some high-grade levity amidst a stack of comics otherwise geared towards the long game. Don’t get me wrong, I fell in love with FF #1 this week and was once again left utterly impressed by Thor: God of Thunder, but it’s also nice to have something stand-alone to read that asks for nothing more than the opportunity to brighten up my afternoon. I might have gone in not expecting much, but instead I’ve come up against creative teams that have other ideas. They want to ‘wow’ me for 10 minutes; to get in, drop some popping candy in my brain, and get out. And I’m always open to that.